With win over Steelers, Dolphins now have 56 percent chance at playoffs

PITTSBURGH — The Dolphins odds of making the playoffs continue to rise.

Although they are tied with Baltimore at 7-6 and the Ravens have the tiebreaker, the Dolphins now have a 56 percent chance of making the playoffs — a 54 percent chance at a Wild Card spot and a 2 percent chance at a division title, according to playoffstatus.com. That’s up from 41 percent before the Steelers win.

Upcoming opponents play into the formula. Miami, which likely has to finish a game ahead of Baltimore to make the playoffs, hosts New England (10-3) and then travels Buffalo (4-9) before finishing the season at home against the Jets (6-7).

Baltimore travels to Detroit (7-6), hosts New England (10-3) and then travels to Cincinnati (9-4).

The Ravens have a 30 percent chance at the last AFC Wild Card spot, while the Jets have a 7 percent chance and Chargers have a 2 percent chance.

Playoffstatus.com

The Dolphins won on Sunday behind Daniel Thomas’ surprise return from what many feared would be a season-ending ankle injury. While Thomas’ career has inconsistent with Miami, the Dolphins lacked a power runner without Thomas in the lineup. So Thomas figured to play a role in today’s game once he was activated. But when Lamar Miller went down with a concussion, it was all Thomas and he stepped up in a huge way. Thomas finished with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The other key was tight end Charles Clay, who has emerged as one of the AFC’s top receiving tight ends. Early in the season it seemed like somewhat of a fluke, but Clay continues to be a go-to receiver for Ryan Tannehill. With three games to go, Clay is now just 113 yards and 12 receptions short of Randy McMichael’s team records for receiving yards and catches for a tight end.

But with everything the Dolphins did right on Sunday, players feared during the last play that Pittsburgh would emerge with one of the NFL’s most improbable wins of the season. On the final play of the game, the Steelers threw five lateral passes. Antonio Brown ultimately went out of the bounds at the 12-yard line. If Brown had scored, Ben Roethlisberger’s lateral would have been reviewed to see if it as a forward pass.

When it was happening, however, players had no idea how the calls would go. Check out a video of colorful reaction from the Dolphins on that final play, recorded on hands-free Google Glass.

The Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin drama continues to die (at least until the investigation findings are released) as the Dolphins playoff push becomes the predominant story.

But these Dolphins fans decided to keep it alive, sitting side by side at Heinz Field in Incognito and Martin jerseys. It was most definitely not a coincidence. Who even has a Martin jersey?

Lastly, will Steelers center Cody Wallace face a fine for poking Randy Starks in the “taint?” Deadspin has the video. The “attack” comes at the 16-second mark.